1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image forming apparatuses and, more particularly, relates to methods and apparatuses for allocating print jobs among plural image forming apparatuses.
2. Description of Related Art
One primary feature in an effective print system is the amount of time that it takes to output a print job. Generally, a user desires to output a print job as quickly as possible. Toward this end, most contemporary operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, permit a user to print a document to any number of printers that communicate with a computer workstation.
The host computer is often a computer workstation on a network. The application program sends the document to a printer driver, which, in conjunction with the operating system, converts the document into a language readable by the printer, which sometimes comprises the combination of a printer controller coupled to a print engine. The document is formatted by the printer controller and sent to the print engine for printing. Each step in this process is desirably performed in an efficient manner in order to minimize the time required for the printer to start outputting the document.
Often, the user desires to print multiple copies of a document using a single print command. Most document processing applications, such as word processors, allow the user to specify a multiple copy count for a print job, wherein the printer prints multiple copies of a document. If a single printer is charged with printing the multiple copies, the amount of time required for printing increases as the number of copies increases because the single printer bears the entire print load. One way of decreasing the amount of time required to print multiple copy print jobs is by allocating the copies among multiple printers. The copies are desirably allocated in an efficient manner in order to reduce the amount of time required to print the entire job.
However, several complications are introduced when dividing a print job among several copiers. First, the output of the printers must be properly managed to ensure that the printers only output the desired number of copies of a document. It is an inefficient use of both time and resources if any of the printers output extra copies of a document. Additionally, the status of each of the printers must be monitored to ensure that none of the printers are interrupted while printing a print job, such as when an error occurs. None of these complications are present where a single printer outputs an entire print job.